1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to highly flavored cheese ingredients intended to be partial or complete replacements for cheeses which have a sharp piccante flavor. This invention also relates to the method of producing these cheese ingredients, and to foods containing the ingredients.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The manufacture of natural cheese is well known in the art. Typically, milk is treated to increase its acidity. Various acid-producing micro-organisms for accomplishing this are well known in the art. Alternatively, lactic acid or another suitable edible acid can be added directly to the milk. Acidified milk is also known as ripened milk.
A clotting agent is added to the acidified milk, the temperature of the acidified milk is raised, or the milk is acidified beyond the iso-electric point to form a solid coagulum, also known as curd. Suitable clotting agents are rennet and other proteases. The curd then is separated from the remaining fluid (the whey) after a suitable period, the length of which is determined by the manufacturer. Whether the curd and whey are stirred before or during separation is a matter of choice. Typically, however, the curd must be agitated to some extent to allow for expulsion of whey from the curd matrix structure.
Various other organisms added to acidify the milk may also contribute to the flavor of the product. The optimum temperature for development of these organisms varies. Therefore, throughout the curd forming process, the temperature of the system may be adjusted to optimize conditions for curd formation.
After the desired incubation period and separation of curd from whey, the curd is placed in a vat so that additional whey can be removed. Typically, when a sufficient amount of whey has been removed so that the curd mats, i.e., the curd becomes sufficiently adherent, it is formed into blocks. If desired, further formation of acid is encouraged to achieve a specific flavor. For example, the curd can be "cheddared" by periodically (approximately every 15 minutes) turning the curd blocks over so that much of the whey is retained within the curd blocks for a longer period. Typically, cheddaring or simple drainage of whey from the curd blocks, as for American cheese, is stopped when the acidity of the draining whey, as measured by the pH, reaches the desired point.
When the curd blocks are sufficiently drained, they are milled and stirred and salt is added, whereupon additional whey is expelled. The salted curd then is placed in cloth-lined metal hoops or similar devices and subjected to pressure to form a cheese. This cheese can then be wrapped, coated, or otherwise protected. It is then stored under conditions of temperature and atmosphere appropriate for the type of cheese flavor desired.
Typically, a lengthy curing period at low (35.degree.-50.degree. F.) temperature, possibly under anaerobic conditions, is required to develop the flavor of the cheese. Generally, at least 60 days is required; one year is more typical. Thus, production of large quantities of naturally-aged cheese requires a substantial investment in appropriately regulated storage facilities. Therefore, various methods of producing cheese products which have the flavor of naturally-aged cheese but which do not require the lengthy aging period have been developed. These methods attempt to avoid the necessity of both the lengthy aging period and the forecasting of the demand for cheese one or more years in the future.
A method for developing cheddar flavored cheese products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,286. After forming curd in a typical fashion, the curd is separated from the whey, preferrably is sterilized, and then is suspended in water. Sterilization is required if full flavor is to be developed. The suspension, which contains 5-50 percent solids is inoculated with micrococci and fermented, preferably aerobically, for 5-7 days with vigorous agitation. Agitation is said to be important to rapidly obtaining the desired flavor. The resultant product can be spray-dried to form a stable cheddar flavored concentrate.
A fluid ripening system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,627, wherein sterilized milk is inoculated with desired bacteriological or mycological cultures after adjusting the solids concentration to between 9 and 50 percent in water. Alternatively, substantially unaged cheese curds can be macerated in water with the desired cultures. The fluid is incubated at conditions optimum for the growth of the culture for 2-10 days while being constantly agitated. When the desired flavor intensity has been achieved, the water is removed by pressing, evaporation, or another drying technique.
American cheese-flavored products can be produced by adding protease and lipase to conventionally prepared curds and aging the curds for a time sufficient to achieve fatty acid concentrations 10 times as great as those found in naturally aged cheese. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,900, the amount of added protease, which could be the product "Rhozyme P-11", should be limited to 10 grams per 100 pounds curd to avoid production of a bitter taste. Further, the length of the aging period is a function of the temperature at which the curd is aged and preferably should be about 6 weeks. Shorter aging periods, which could be utilized if higher aging temperatures were maintained, are said to produce bitter flavor. This patent also discloses that unaged cheese curd blocks could be mixed with enzymes and optionally reformed into blocks for additional aging.
A process for producing a cheddar flavor product by adding lipase, protease, and optionally peptidase to cheddared cheese curds is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,544. Alternatively, but not preferably, the enzyme can be added to a previously prepared cheddar cheese. The treated curd or cheese then is aged for about one month until the desired flavor is developed.
The method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,732 requires the protease and lipase be added with the rennet or other suitable curd-forming proteolytic enzymes. The curd then may be cheddared and then is formed into the desired shape for aging. The flavor of a 9-12 month natural aging period is said to be developed in about 10 weeks at preferred temperatures. This flavor can be developed in 4-6 weeks at higher temperatures but the peak flavor will not be maintained in the product and an undesirable acid flavor will be produced.
A method for manufacturing cheese from milk from which the lactose has been removed or from a composition of liquid proteins, fats, and salts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,170. Protein and fat fractions are treated with protease and lipase, respectively, to develop flavor before the curd is formed. These rapidly flavored fractions are then mixed with untreated fractions and curd is formed by adding a coagulant. Subsequent treatment depends upon the type of cheese desired. The aging period is variable; a cheddar cheese aged for 10 days is said to have the flavor of a cheese aged naturally for 4 months.
A different multiple-fraction technique for producing cheese products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,971, wherein protein and fat concentrates are enzyme treated and mixed with untreated concentrates. Micro-organisms required to produce the desired cheese flavor are added to the treated, highly digested fractions. This combination of treated and untreated fractions then is inoculated with a cheese starter culture, i.e., a micro-organism which produces lactic acid. With this method, a cheese product purportedly can be produced in 24 hours.
None of these methods is an entirely satisfactory technique for quickly producing a cheese ingredient intended to be a partial or complete replacement for cheeses having sharp piccante flavor. The techniques in the prior art which produce cheese products in less than about 7 days require continuous agitation, yield products which are not useful unless dried, or require complex fractionation of milk or sources of protein- and fat-rich concentrates. Prior art techniques which yield a product useful in the form in which it is produced require an aging period of at least one month.
It is an object of this invention to quickly produce a highly flavored cheese ingredient which has a sharp piccante flavor.
It is a further object of this invention to quickly produce a highly flavored cheese ingredient intended to be a partial or complete replacement for cheeses which have a sharp piccante flavor.